gibbs



Jan. 31, 1956 R. J. GIBBS 2,732,620

MULTIPLE BLADED ROOFQIG AND PRUNING KNIVES Filed .1511. 18, 1952JNVENTOR. R0) J. 6/535 A T TOR/V5 Y United States Patent A,

b73162! MULTIPLE BLADED nooFrNg; rnurgnsg Roy J. Gibbs, Sanlliggp,,Qglif. pp icatihn Ja u ry 8, 1952,, Ser al Ng- 2 1, 3 Claims. (cl.sofiaao My invention relates to multiple :bladed cutting knives,particularly as adapted for the cut-ting and laying of asphalt roofingmaterial and also for pruning purposes; and its objects are, to providea multiple bladed knife of novel construction capable of cutting o ghand fractory material with minimum physical exertion and prevention offatigue on the part of the workman; to dispense with the single bladedknife ordinarily used by roofers and pruners, and to substitute therefora tool with an adjustable, replaceable adjustable attach ment having aplurality of blades, usable separately and successively for cuttingpurposes; to allow said attachment readily to be turned and readjustedfor presentation of a single blade, and also to be removed and replacedfor renewal or resharpening upon the blades thereof becoming worn ordull; to render the blades of said attachment available for cuttingpurposes when the handle of the knife is in either horizontal or uprightposition; to render it feasible to employ thinner blades for the cuttingof asphalt roofing material than has heretofore been deemed practicablein the art; to render the parts readily accessible for inspection,adjustment, renewal, replacement and repair, and in general to provide adevice of this character which is economical of construction, saving oflabor, eflicient in action and of prolonged life and durability. Theseand other objects will appear from the drawing and as more specificallyhereinafter set forth.

My invention more particularly consists in a triangular, square or otherpolygonal shaped metallic disc, the sides of which are sharpened to formcutting edges or blades, preferably made curved or concave in form; thesaid disc being thin and having an opening in the center thereof forpivotally mounting the same upon the cutting edged shank of the handleof a cutting tool, and each of the said cutting edges conforming to thecutting edge of said shank when turned and aligned therewith.

My invention further consists in forming the shank of said handle with acounter-sunk recess of the same shape as a portion of the said disc, andallowing said disc to be seated and by registering contact to be securedagainst turning therein, upon the tightening of screw passing throughthe opening of said disc and in screw threaded connection with the saidshank.

My invention further consists in novel features of construction, andcombinations and arrangements of elements and parts illustrated in thedrawing and hereinatfer more particularly pointed out and claimed.

Attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawing illustrating apreferred form of my invention in which similar numerals of designationrefer to similar parts throughout the several views, and in which Figure1 is a side elevational view of a roofing or pruning knife andattachment embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in thedirection indicated by the arrows, and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 1, looking in thedirection indicated by the arrows.

2,732,620 Patents-ti Jan- 1, .956

Referring to the drawing, I have there shown a roofns r Pray n haltpmprisih a hat sh nk 4, a h i 5 and a t u -bl de knife 9 di c 6- h s k 4islems i t e amnion o th of th de of a Pru his .kn e e cept th t' hav mat m s w at h ke d n Pla e 9 th 11 1 a h P nt th 1 have provided acountersunk recess 7, which recess is h pe o sont m 9 a p rt o of the fo e and f -b a ed kn fe. armin t e ins Prs g h ease 8 9 t e sai hhh i haene and i c ve ali nme w th ea h of he cu ting ed s f th .d s ,6 whethmed t hs t eh the walls 10f sa ses being so losa d ansisha esl s t ashn sh thi e ul As shown, the inset 6 is a thin square-shaped disc of temere ste l in the hhit tm sha pe a r wead s a ed paint 19 1, 11 and utwad p ec ing substantially beyond the periphery thereof, and the uh iq msh red tmhmks c t n edges 14. 15 an 16, respectively, extending.therehetween. It is secured within the recess 7 by the set screw 17passing through an opening in the center of said inset, and effectingthreaded engagement with the back wall of said recess; but as is obviousmay be secured by any suitable means. Preferably, the said cutting edgesare curved and the said disc and recess are so shaped and located asalways to be turned to bring one of said cutting edges in curvedalignment with the cutting edge 8 of the shank 4.

The counter-sunk recess 7, as shown in Fig. 1, is so shaped convexly asto engage one of the said sharpened points of the disc 6, and thereby toprevent the said inset from turning within said recess; but as, isapparent, such recess could be dispensed with, and the multiple bladeddisc 6 pivotally mounted directly upon the shank 4, with a stop thereinor other equivalent for positioning said disc 6 upon said shank andpreventing rotation thereon.

My improved device can be used by the roofer in a horizontal position asis usually the case, or it may be used in vertical position, in whichcase the clear cutting edge at the bottom of the device couldefiectively be used as a utility knife by workman in standing position.Since the multiple bladed disc has four cutting edges, the workman hasthe equivalent of four cutting knives at his ready disposal, itrequiring but a minute to loosen the screw 17, to readjust and turn thedisc 6, and again to tighten the said screw, thereby rendering a newcutting edge available. Also the said disc when dull may at any time bereplaced easily by another disc with sharpened edges. Also this form ofconstruction, renders it possible to use thinner knives, and therebymuch more easily to cut asphalt roofing, than is the case with thickerblades now deemed necessary in cutting such material. While preferably Iprovide my device with the cutting edge 8 upon the shank 4, inco-operation with the inset 6, this is more particularly for pruningpurposes. For cutting roofing, the shank 4 could be of any suitable formand such cutting edge could be dispensed with, and the blades of theinset 6 solely relied upon.

By the words arrow-head shaped point, arrowheaded pointed or equivalentlanguage used in the claims, as applied to the projecting portions ofthe four-bladed knife or disc 6, I desire to be understood as meaningpointed extensions, each of which is cuneiform in shape and With slopingsides in the same configurative relation with the median line thereof.

My invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom. the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment, as above set forth, is therefore to be considered in allrespects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of my inventionbeing indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription, and all changes which may come within the meaning and rangeof equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embracedtherein.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A multiple bladed knife, comprising a handle and secured thereto aflat shank in the form of a blade with a curved continuous cutting edge,said blade having a recess formed in the outer surface of the endportion of said blade, the curved cutting edge of said blade extendingto but not beyond said recess; a metallic disc with a plurality ofseparate uniformly shaped cutting edges symmetrically and sequentiallydisposed about a common center, each of said cutting edges being curvedand terminating in a sharpened arrow-head shaped point projectingoutwardly from said center, and each of said edges when registered withthe curved cutting edge of said blade forming a curved longitudinalextension thereof; the walls of said recess conforming to the shape ofsaid disc and by registering contact therewith, causing the same to beseated against turning therein; and means for detachably and adjustablysecuring said disc within said recess so as to allow one of its cuttingedges to be 4 in curved alignment with the sharpened edge of said shank.

2. The subject matter of claim 1, the said metallic disc having fourcurved cutting edges symmetrically disposed about a common center andadjustably disposed so as each to be brought into curved alignment withthe cutting edge of said shank, and the walls of said recess conformingto the shape of said disc and permitting the same to be seated againstturning therein.

3. The subject matter of claim 2, the sharpened points of the said discbeing disposed in pairs in opposite alignment one with the other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

